Third of consumers “have no idea” what 4G is

One in three Brits have no idea what 4G is, despite most wanting the faster browsing speeds the technology offers.

While almost 60% of the population wants to access the mobile web at similar speeds to their home broadband, a third don’t realise this is what 4G offers, according to a YouGov survey of 1,456 adults.

A third of those surveyed also said they “can’t see the point” of upgrading and that 3G meets their needs, but YouGov suggested this may be because they “do not have a good understanding” of 4G.

That a lot of consumers can’t see the point of 4G presents a real challenge to operators as more of them roll out 4G to their customers

Only a fifth said they were confident they understood what 4G offers, and a third of Brits were also worried about the expense of data on 4G – with YouGov finding those on 4G tariffs pay an extra £14.70 for data per month, on average. EE is currently the only operator offering 4G services; its most expensive plan costs £76 a month for 20GB of data.

Given that only one operator is offering 4G, it isn’t entirely surprising that consumers struggle to see the benefits of 4G.

As O2 and Vodafone are set to launch their rival networks by the end of the summer, EE has recently revised its tariffs to offer more data.

“That a lot of consumers can’t see the point of 4G presents a real challenge to operators as more of them roll out 4G to their customers,” said YouGov technology and telecoms director Russell Feldman. “The low levels of understanding about what 4G offers indicate that networks need to be savvy when selling it to consumers – showing not just that it exists but also what it does.”

“Takeup is likely to be a slow burn as consumers hold off making decisions until they see it in action,” he added.